


The Engagement

by CirrusGrey



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, cw: swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 19:04:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14339037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CirrusGrey/pseuds/CirrusGrey
Summary: "Stevie...""Yeah Buck?""Would you ever consider marrying me?"~~~Or: tracking the ups and downs of the longest engagement in history, with two people who are very much in love but also very insecure about it.





	The Engagement

It was a quiet evening in the apartment. The radio was playing softly, telling a story of young love, and Steve and Bucky were curled on the worn old couch, Steve leaning back into Bucky's arms. The program they were listening to ended with eternal vows and the presenters started thanking their sponsor. Bucky shifted, tightening his grip around Steve nervously before drawing back slightly.

"Stevie..."

"Yeah Buck?"

"Would you ever consider marrying me?"

Steve sat up in surprise and turned to look at Bucky. He smiled sadly as he cupped the other man's cheek in his hand.

"In a heartbeat. But you know we can't."

Bucky smiled back.

"I know. But there’s nothing to stop us from getting engaged."

He shifted a little, reaching into his pocket to pull out a ring. It was plain metal band with no ornamentation, but Steve loved it instantly.

"Its nothing fancy. And I know it's a little big for your finger. But it's not like you'll be able to wear it in public anyway, so... do you want it?"

Steve grinned, bright and happy, and held out his left hand.

"With pleasure," he said, and let Bucky slip the bright band over his finger.

~~~~~~

"The ring fits now."

Bucky blinked and looked up.

"What?"

They were alone for the first time since they had escaped Zola's labs, hidden away from the rest of the world in a private tent. Steve was surprised that no one was suspicious over the arrangement, but he supposed being friends since childhood bought a lot of forgiveness over any intimacy shown. In reality, there was nothing to be suspicious about. Bucky had been sitting on one of the camp beds staring at the floor for twenty minutes now, not saying a word.

“The engagement ring. My hands are bigger now, and… well, it fits perfectly.”

“Oh.”

Bucky went back to staring at the floor. Steve furrowed his brow, worried, and sat down next to him.

“Is something wrong?”

Bucky turned to him suddenly, looking him in the eye for perhaps the first time that night.

“You don’t have to keep it, you know.”

“What?”

“The ring. You don’t… you don’t have to feel obliged to keep it. I won’t be angry if you don’t.”

“Bucky -”

“Save it, Steve. I saw the way that Agent Carter looked at you. And the way you looked at her. If you -”

He broke off, exhaled sharply, and continued.

“I’ve always seen how great of a man you are, Steve, and I’ve always loved you for it, but now that other people can see it too I understand if you don’t want to settle for me anymore.”

“Bucky.”

Steve grabbed him by the shoulders, angry.

“This is not me settling. I love you. I have always loved you, and I always will. I don’t care how many people throw themselves at me, I will always come back to you. So if you’ll still take me, even with the changes, I’m yours. Till the end of the line.”

Bucky hesitated.

“You don’t have to -”

“I _want_ to. I want _you_.”

The tension vanished from Bucky’s shoulders and he leaned forward into Steve’s arms, wrapping his arms in turn around the larger man.

“I want you, too. Even if you do have a ridiculous amount of muscles now.”

Steve laughed and held Bucky closer, then pulled back slightly to whisper in his ear.

“And as far as Agent Carter goes, she’s a wonderful person. I promise you’ll like her. But you know I’m not interested in women, right?”

Bucky let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a choked sob.

“Yeah. It’s just hard not to get jealous, with the way she looked at you.”

“You realize that’s how I’ve always felt when women look at you, right?”

This time the laugh was real.

“I guess I never considered that. So… you’re keeping the ring?”

“I’m keeping the ring.”

~~~~~

The taste of alcohol burned in his mouth, but there were no welcome fumes to cloud his thoughts and deaden the pain. He was wearing the ring - there was no one here to see it, to question why. Despite the warmth of the abandoned building, the small metal band seemed to burn with the ice of mountain winds.

_Your fault._

His thoughts were circling around the same theme. If he had been more observant, a better fighter, if he had moved faster, if he had never taken that _damn_ mission -

_Your fault._

There were footsteps outside. He slipped the ring into an inner pocket of his uniform, the chill of the metal lingering in his fingers.

~~~~~

It was fitting, really. Going down into the ice. Peggy was trying to find to find another way, desperate for him to find another plan, but there had never really been an alternative, had there? He was just following Bucky, the way he had always done, the way Bucky had always followed him. The ring was cold around his finger, but instead of drawing him into guilt, it now felt like a promise. He’d see his fiance again soon.

He pulled out his compass, propping the picture of Peggy up on the dash. She’d been a good friend, and he hated to have to leave her this way. She’d move on, he knew, she’d keep fighting and bring Hydra to its knees, but this was going to be traumatising. Nothing much he could do about that, though.

The world was lost in noise and cold.

~~~~~

When he woke up, S.H.I.E.L.D. had put his possessions into storage. Fury himself accompanied Steve to retrieve them, and was kind enough not to ask about the ring Steve was so relieved to find.

~~~~~

The Winter Soldier’s eyes flashed blue, and Steve was almost brought to his knees. After all this time, they were still following each other, inescapably, inevitably. They had a second chance now. He would save Bucky, whatever it took.

~~~~~

It took a lot more than he was expecting.

~~~~~

The plane hummed quietly. They were en route to The Raft to rescue Natasha, Sam, and the others, and it was the first time Steve felt like they actually had a chance to talk. He couldn't see Bucky from where he was sitting in the pilot’s seat, but that might be a good thing.

“Why'd you pretend?”

“Sorry?”

“When I found you. You said you recognized me from a museum. Why not tell the truth?”

“You're better off without me.”

Yes, it was a good thing he couldn't see Bucky, and that Bucky couldn't see him. His face had fallen into a mask of confusion and pain, and their reunion was still new enough to require tact, not overly emotional displays.

“That's not true.”

“Isn't it? After everything I've done?”

“I said before, that wasn't you.”

“I still -”

“I _know!”_

Damn. That wasn't tactful. Nothing for it now.

“I don't care, okay? I don't care what you did under Hydra’s control, and I honestly probably wouldn't care even if you had done a hundred times more! I thought you were dead, Bucky, and it was my fault you were dead and it killed me! I’ve always been better off with you than without, so _please_ don’t push me away now that I’ve finally got you back!”

There was silence for a moment, then -

“Steve… it wasn't your fault.”

“Wasn't it? I was the Captain - I was meant to keep you safe.”

“No, you were meant to _lead_ us. I fell to save you, and that was _my_ choice, _my_ action to take. Pretty much the last action I had any say in, and that’s the only thing that kept me going, whenever I managed to unscramble my brain from Hydra. That when _I_ was in control, I protected you. Don’t take that away from me.”

Steve closed his eyes for a second, gathering his thoughts.

“Fine. I can’t say I accept that, but I’ll try to. As long as _you_ try to accept that it doesn’t matter to me what you did under Hydra.”

Steve heard Bucky sigh before responding.

“Fine. But it’ll be a lot easier if I know it won’t happen again.”

“That’s why we’re heading to Wakanda. We’ll figure this out. Together, like we always have.”

Bucky was silent. Steve bit his lip, thinking. It might be too early to bring it up, but he had to know.

“Hey, Buck… are we still engaged?”

He heard a sharp, surprised inhale.

“It’s just that I still have the ring you gave me.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, it survived the ice. And I understand if you don’t feel the same after everything you’ve been through, but I still love you.”

Bucky hesitated, then: “How’re the winds at this height? Is the flight stable enough for me to stand up?”

“What? Oh. Yes.” Steve responded, confused.

He heard Bucky stand and move up next to him, and the next thing he knew the other man’s remaining arm was wrapping around him from behind and there was a whisper in his ear.

“Of course I still love you, Stevie. I can’t believe you would doubt it. And if you truly feel the same after everything that’s happened, then yes, we’re still engaged.”

Steve grinned, happier than he had been in far too long.

“It’s legal now, you know. You’re actually going to have to follow through on that promise this time.”

Bucky laughed quietly into his ear. “Would've done it seventy years ago in Brooklyn if I could.”

Steve switched on the autopilot and turned quickly, twining a hand in Bucky’s hair and kissing him soundly. “Let’s not wait any longer, then.”

Bucky grinned when he pulled back. “You know, I’m pretty sure we’ve set the record for the longest engagement in history. You sure you want to break that streak?”

Steve laughed and turned back to the controls, guiding the plane lower as they approached The Raft. “As soon as humanly possible.”

He re-engaged the autopilot to keep the plane circling in a holding pattern.

“Let’s go rescue the wedding party.”


End file.
